To quote one of my favorite Real Housewives: “I’m not about the drama. Don’t start none, won’t be none.”At my core, I’m a practical girl. Thereis no whimsy living here. I also have avery low tolerance for drama (I’m beinggenerous; my tolerance for drama isactually zero). This goes forpersonal and professional. Butespecially in my professionalworld, drama is not welcome. Asa compliance professional andteam leader, my outlook is that thecompliance team remains abovethe fray—always. Does that meanthat my organization is drama free? Ofcourse not! All organizations have drama(if you know of one that doesn’t, let meknow). However, it does mean that dramais not initiated or perpetuated by mycompliance team.

If you’ve ever read Cy Wakeman, hertake on drama is perfect for a complianceprofessional. Cy says, “Once we stopfocusing on what’s happening to us andfocus instead on what we can do withinour current circumstances to succeed, wewill get the results we are looking for.”To Cy’s point, part of being a complianceprofessional is learning to work and effectchange within an organization’s structureor “circumstances.”I’ve worked for a number of differentorganizations as a compliance professional.

They each had their own brand ofcircumstances. And I’ve approachedeach organization the same way. I don’tcare. That’s right—I don’t care about theircircumstances or their drama. My focus ison the work. And my zero-tolerance policyon drama is something that the people onmy team learn quickly.

Repeat after me: “It’s not ever going
to be perfect.” Acknowledge that. Accept
it. And then move on. If you get stuck
focusing on an organization’s structure
or culture or circumstances, you’ll never
actually get to the work of fixing the
problems that exist within. If you can’t get
past it, you’ll never be successful.

Learn to get past the drama; let go of
the story in your head. Lead your teams in
a way that keeps them above organizational
drama. Teach them to accept their reality
and then get to work. Make it known that
you expect accountability for their actions.

Let the team know that their work is
important, that it adds to the organization in
a positive way, and that the bar for success is
high. Reinforce that drama has no place on
the compliance team.